Showdown
by Chiyala
Summary: Natsu doesn't tell Gray that he's END - and then it's too late.


**Written for Gratsu Week 2016, Day 7: END. Enjoy!**

 **There's a podfic available on this! So if you want to listen to the text (read by me) rather than read it, go to tumblr (username: Chiyala) or Archive Of Our Own (AO3), find this fanfic (same title, author name: 'Chiyala (Shiningangel)'), there's a link to the podfic (since won't allow any external links)**

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Gray, Natsu, and Zeref were out of breath. The area around them was completely devastated. Where there had been a forest before was now only a huge crater.

Zeref wiped a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth and then smirked at the two Fairy Tail mages. "You're fighting together really well. I wonder who of you is the stronger one? Time to find out."

"Why should Natsu and I-" Gray started, but he was interrupted by Natsu, who was pushing himself protectively in front of the ice mage. Gray could see over Natsu's shoulder that Zeref was now holding a book in his hands. He recognized it as the book of END.

"Zeref. Wait. Please, give me a few minutes. I want to say goodbye properly."

Goodbye? What was Natsu talking about? They would kick Zeref's ass and then celebrate victory with their guild. That was the plan they'd agreed on, so why was Natsu talking about farewell?

"Oh, Natsu, you had plenty of time. You've missed your chance." And with that, he opened the book of END. Suddenly Natsu started screaming and dropped on all fours. Taken aback, Gray dropped on his knees beside Natsu and tried to figure out what was wrong with him. He put his hands on Natsu's shoulder, but it was slapped away instantly.

"G- Gray, please, kill me," Natsu said with a very dark voice. It was barely recognizable as his anymore.

Gray took a few steps back from his best friend. Kill Natsu? How could he say something like that? They were _nakama!_ Why would Natsu want to be killed?

"Just look at the two of you! You haven't told him anything, have you, _little brother?_ "

Gray snapped his head up and fixed his gaze on Zeref. "Who are you calling _'little brother'?_ "

Zeref threw his head back and barked out an evil laugh. Gray clenched his fist and hissed, ready to attack Zeref once more, but then Zeref's eyes met his again and his expression changed back to neutral in the blink of an eye. "I'm Natsu's older brother. And _he_ is living only because I revived him and turned him into my strongest demon. He's now Etherious Natsu Dragneel. Short form: E.N.D. You're the one who's sworn to his father to kill him, aren't you?"

Gray took another step back and focused his gaze back on Natsu. He was slowly getting up, standing a bit wobbly on his feet. Two round horns had grown out of his head. Why hadn't Natsu told him? Did he not trust him? Was he too afraid Gray would've killed him on the spot? _No, please, this can't be true._

Natsu was lifting his head slowly, and when their gazes met, Gray froze. Natsu's eyes were gleaming red. His expression was extremely angry and his anger was directed at _Gray_. He took a defensive stance. He knew how to fight with Natsu; he'd done it more often than he could count.

He didn't have any time to think about strategy, as Natsu attacked him right away with a hit to his gut. He dodged it easily with his shin, but the impact still sent him flying several meters. He used the time to form an ice make harpoon, and shot it in Natsu's direction. Only that Natsu disappeared in a heartbeat and his harpoon hit the floor uselessly. Where had he gone? When his head was hit hard from behind, it was obviously too late. His face met the floor and he skittered over the mud for a bit, but then Natsu stopped him by landing a kick in his lower spine. Was that the sound of a cracking bone? Gray tried to move his toe, but nothing happened. He tried to move his legs, but again nothing happened. Natsu had broken his spine. He didn't even feel pain.

He was grabbed by the collar and lifted from the ground abruptly, and was met with his face so close to Natsu's, that he could've kissed him if he straightened his neck a bit. Why the hell was he thinking about kissing Natsu when the dragon slayer clearly wanted to chop off his head right now? This was not the time to let his thoughts wander! He needed to stop Natsu or he would kill dozens of people. He'd never forgive himself for losing control like this.

Gray could still move his hands, so there was no way he'd give up now. He formed a sharp and thin ice sword in his right hand, aimed for Natsu's gut, and- hesitated. A thin sword in his gut wouldn't kill him, for god's sake! Why couldn't he-

He was being thrown to the floor and before he could even move a muscle, Natsu was sitting astride his hips. He grabbed his upper right arm with both hands and bent it until the bones broke. He instantly dropped the icy sword as he lost control over his right arm. Funny enough, this hadn't hurt either. He was probably too high on adrenaline. Natsu now took his left upper arm and broke it as well. Gray's head felt fuzzy. He didn't shout. The only thing he could do now was stare at Natsu's face and face his own impending death.

Natsu finally looked him in the eyes. He smiled wickedly and spoke with a dark voice that was not his own. "So much for your promise, you weak human. And you call yourself a devil slayer?" He lifted his right hand and formed a small ball of fire. "I'm going to burn your heart." The fire ball in his hand glowed even brighter. It looked like Natsu was collecting more and more energy to make it hotter and stronger.

Gray managed a weak smile. "My heart... belongs to you, stupid flame brain... So you can do with it whatever the hell you want."

That seemed to throw him off track. The fireball dissipated and he stared at Gray disbelievingly. "What?" His voice was still not his own, but Gray could see him struggling.

"I said... I love you, Natsu. I've loved you for a long time."

He could hear claps from the direction where Zeref was standing. "Congratulations on that, poor ice mage. Now kill him, Natsu."

Natsu's eyes were flaming red and his expression was angrier than he'd ever seen before. The fireball in Natsu's right hand was back and burning even hotter than before. Gray closed his eyes. He didn't want to see how the man he loved turned into a murderer. He pictured himself lying on a meadow with Natsu, their hands entwined and smiling at each other. In his imagination, Natsu turned towards him and brought his face closer to his. He was about to kiss him-

When a rattle pulled him back from his dream world. He was still alive, but Natsu wasn't sitting on him any longer. He turned his head to the side. Zeref was lying on the floor, bleeding heavily from a large wound to his gut. Natsu was over him, his fist still hovering over the wound. "To think that I'd kill the man I love. That was your mistake!"

Zeref responded weakly, "Idiot. If I die, you die as well."

"As if I give a damn. You wanted to make me kill the one who is the most precious to me. You're a monster. I'm happy to sacrifice my own life if it means you'll cease to exist." Natsu got up and walked over to Gray.

He sat down astride his hips, leaned down and kissed Gray without preamble. Gray had imagined their first time in a thousand different situations. Never had he thought their first kiss would happen like this, on a battlefield, with him being unable to move. It was a rather sloppy kiss and Gray thought he could even taste blood, but that wasn't important right now. Natsu had said that he loved him. Natsu was going to die if Zeref died. Natsu was still kissing him with abandon. Oh how he wished that he could bring his arms around Natsu's torso and pull him in just a bit more.

Natsu broke the kiss and Gray wanted to protest, but Natsu pressed a finger against his lips.

"Listen. We don't have much time left. Zeref is bleeding out and when he dies, I'll also die. So listen carefully, and never forget. I'm so sorry that I did this to you, and I'm incredibly thankful that you were able to stop me in the end. Nobody else could've done that. I think all the others owe their life to you now."

"Don't let him bleed out... don't die, Natsu, don't accept this so easily, don't do this to me, please!"

Natsu shook his head sadly. "This is for the best. He'd kill thousands of people if we let him live. Besides, I think it's already too late for him. I can feel the life slowly draining from my body... You need to live on... Wendy is close by, she'll find you and she'll heal you. I love you; please don't ever forget that... I wish I had told you before. We could've at least spent some happy days together as a couple... I'm so sorry..." Natsu coughed and Gray realized in horror that he was spitting out blood. Far too much blood.

"No, no. Natsu, I don't want to live without you, please, _no!_ "

Natsu just smiled down at him. "I... would've loved to walk around in Magnolia, holding your hand... Pushing you against a wall and kissing you... Gajeel would've been so shocked to see us together..." He coughed harder and spat out another load of blood. "Or Juvia, just imagine her face if you kissed me in front of her... I would've loved to show her whom your heart belongs to... G- Gray... Please... be happy..."

Tears were streaming down Gray's face and he hated it; they were dulling his view of Natsu. "How could I possibly be happy without you?"

"Try... promise, please. Promise... that you'll try..."

This was Natsu's last wish, what other could he do than accept? He nodded just slightly. His eyes were so full of tears that he had difficulty making out Natsu's face.

"Thank... you... I love... you." He could hear Natsu spitting out even more blood, and then their lips were pressed together again. It was awful, with all the blood in Natsu's mouth and on his lips, but Gray didn't care, he kissed back with as much passion as he could muster. Their kiss seemed to go on forever. After a while, Natsu rested the weight of his head fully on Gray's and their lips were pressed together even more.

Natsu didn't kiss back anymore. He had also stopped breathing. Tears were rapidly streaming down Gray's face and mixing with Natsu's blood. He couldn't bring himself to shake Natsu's lifeless body off. He was just laying there, his lips pressed against the lips of the love of his life.

A few minutes later, Wendy found them.

She healed Gray's wounds.

Gray's broken heart would never be healed.

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 **Phew, Gratsu Week 2016 is finished! The last three weeks were pretty intense, writing so much and preparing, all that stuff :) But I liked it!**

 **Please give me some kind of feedback!**


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